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Jim Messenger

Joined the Hurricanes as defensive coordinator in 1997, building the defence of the unbeaten College Bowl XII side, and took over as head coach from Beau Riffenburgh for 1998–99. His teams won College Bowls XIII, XIV and XVIII and the 2012 BUAFL national final, and the club’s c. 2014 website credited him with a 116–25–3 record over fifteen seasons as head coach; by the club founder’s account he led the team until 2015–16 and returned as head coach in 2021–22. He was BCAFL Coach of the Year for 2002–03, led the GB Bulldogs to four wins from four games in 2000, was offensive coordinator of the GB Lions, served eleven years as President of the British American Football Coaches Association and received an honorary MSc from the University of Hertfordshire in 2007. Before Hertfordshire he coached the Southend Sabres youth team, which included Matt Coppinger, to national titles in 1992 and 1993, and was offensive coordinator of the London Olympians.

Jim Messenger: feature

Club record as head coach
116–25–3[1]
over fifteen seasons, as stated on the club’s c. 2014 coaching staff page
BCAFL Coach of the Year
2002–03[2]
GB Bulldogs head coach
4–0[3]
won all four games in 2000
BAFCA President
11 years[1]
British American Football Coaches Association
Honorary MSc
2007[1]
University of Hertfordshire

Career with the Hurricanes

  1. 1997–98

    Joined the Hurricanes as defensive coordinator, one of the coaches Beau Riffenburgh brought to the club. His defence recorded six shutouts in the eight-game regular season and was credited with shutting down Leeds, the league’s leading offence, as the Hurricanes won College Bowl XII for their first national title.[4][5][6]

  2. 1998–99

    Became head coach when Riffenburgh stepped down. The Hurricanes went 7–0–1 and beat Loughborough 7–3 in College Bowl XIII.[7][8][9][10]

  3. 1999–2000

    A 20–6 win over Leicester in College Bowl XIV gave the Hurricanes a third national title in a row, a first in the league’s history.[4][3][11]

  4. November 2002

    Inducted into the Hurricanes Hall of Fame in its founding class at the club’s first alumni event, where he retired the shirts of three former league MVPs and helped announce the 10th-anniversary All-Time Team. The alumni made him their Honorary Vice President.[12][13][5]

  5. 2002–03

    Named BCAFL Coach of the Year after five winning seasons as head coach. The Hurricanes reached College Bowl XVII and lost 22–17 to Stirling.[2]

  6. 2003–04

    His first perfect regular season as head coach (8–0) ended with a 27–6 win over Staffordshire in College Bowl XVIII, the club’s fourth national title.[14][15]

  7. 2005–06

    The club’s staff page noted that under him the team had never missed the playoffs and had reached the bowl game five times, winning four.[3]

  8. 2007

    Awarded an honorary Master of Science degree by the University of Hertfordshire in recognition of his achievements with the Hurricanes and in developing the sport in the UK.[1]

  9. 2011–12

    An unbeaten season ended with a 37–19 win over Birmingham Lions in the BUAFL National Final, the Hurricanes’ fifth national title.[16][17][15]

  10. 2012–13

    Reached a second national final in a row, losing 17–13 to Birmingham Lions.[15][18][19]

  11. c. 2014

    The club’s coaching staff page credited him with 25 years of coaching, the last fifteen as Hurricanes head coach, with a 116–25–3 record.[1]

  12. 2014–15

    Led the Hurricanes to a third national final in four seasons, lost 46–6 to Stirling Clansmen. By the club founder’s account he stayed as head coach until 2015–16.[20][15][21]

  13. 2016–17

    Simon Hatcher, his defensive coordinator from 2007–08 and later deputy head coach, took over as head coach.[20][22][1]

  14. 2021–22

    Returned as head coach after the 2020–21 season was lost to COVID-19.[20]

  15. 2024–25

    Listed by UH Sport as the team’s head coach; a 2024 podcast also introduced him as head coach of the Hurricanes.[23][24]

Record as head coach

Regular season, from the archive’s season records. Blank where the record isn’t known yet.

SeasonLeagueW–L–TPointsFinish
1998–99BCAFL7–0–1191–27National champions
1999–2000BCAFL7–1260–66National champions
2000–01BCAFL6–1–1192–461st
2001–02BCAFL4–3–1141–972nd
2002–03BCAFL7–1215–47National finalists
2003–04BCAFL8–0300–32National champions
2004–05BCAFL7–1413–331st
2005–06BCAFL5–3199–1192nd
2006–07BCAFL5–3275–902nd
2007–08BUAFL8–0340–581st
2008–09BUAFL7–1—South Eastern Conference runners-up
2009–10BUAFLunknown—South Eastern Conference winners
2010–11BUAFLunknown—South Eastern Conference winners (No. 1 seed, southern section)
2011–12BUAFLunknown—National champions
2012–13BUCS8–0—National finalists
2013–14BUCS8–0384–61st
2014–15BUCS7–1275–56National finalists
2015–16BUCS5–3190–1092nd
2021–22BUCSunknown——
2022–23BUCSunknown——
2023–24BUCSunknown——
2024–25BUCS5–3154–1282nd
2025–26BUCS0–114–15—
Known seasons (17 of 23)104–22–33543–9294 titles

Beyond the Hurricanes

  • President, British American Football Coaches Association (BAFCA) · eleven years[1][6][3]
  • Director of BAFA, the national governing body[1]
  • Vice-Chair, International Federation of American Football (IFAF) Technical Committee[1]
  • Head coach, GB Bulldogs (national student team) · 2000[3]
  • Offensive coordinator, GB Lions · 1998; again by 2005–06[7][8][3]
  • Coach with Great Britain teams at junior, student and senior level[1][3]
  • Head coach, GB Women[20][24]
  • Offensive coordinator, London Olympians · by 1998[4][5][7]
  • Head coach, Southend Sabres (youth from 1991, winning the BYAFA national championship in 1992 and 1993; seniors from 1994); also coached the Essex Buccaneers and Chelmsford Cherokee[6][25][3][4]

In Jim’s words

“Surrey are a better team than their record gives credit for. They are physical, have some talented players and came after us right from the start. But the Hurricanes are really beginning to gel now.”
Jim Messenger, after beating Surrey Stingers, 1998–99[7][8]
“We now enter the Christmas break with a one hundred percent record. This has obviously been a great start for us but we must not become complacent.”
Jim Messenger, at the 2008–09 Christmas break, 2008–09[26]

Sources for this feature

  1. Hurricanes club website (Wayback Machine): Coaching staff (c. 2014)
  2. Hurricanes club website (Wayback Machine): 2002–03 season
  3. Hurricanes club website (Wayback Machine): 2005–06 coaching staff
  4. Hurricanes club website (Wayback Machine): Hall of Fame biographies (2002)
  5. Caneweb (2002 club site), team/HallofFame.htm
  6. Hurricanes club website (Wayback Machine): Coaching staff (2002)
  7. Caneweb (2002 club site), seasons/1998/season.htm
  8. Hurricanes club website (Wayback Machine): 1998–99 season
  9. Hurricanes club website (Wayback Machine): College Bowl XIII box score
  10. Wikipedia: 1998–99 British Collegiate American Football League
  11. Hurricanes club website (Wayback Machine): College Bowl XIV report
  12. Caneweb (2002 club site), alumni/HallofFame.htm
  13. Hurricanes club website (Wayback Machine): "Rookies and Legends" alumni event (2002)
  14. Hurricanes club website (Wayback Machine): 2003–04 season
  15. Wikipedia: British Universities American Football League (finals list and standings; also British Collegiate American Football League)
  16. Hurricanes club website (Wayback Machine): History and honours (c. 2014)
  17. Sky Sports, "Secret success story" (19 Apr 2012)
  18. Hurricanes club website (Wayback Machine): "SEC Champions Again" (2012–13)
  19. BUCS (BUCScore), American Football 2012-13 – Championship – Men's knockout bracket (Wayback Machine)
  20. Matt Coppinger, club founder, in conversation 2026-10-22 (recollection; confirm with alumni)
  21. BAFA, "Stirling Clansmen retain BUCS National Championship" (22 Mar 2015; Wayback Machine)
  22. Hurricanes club website (Wayback Machine): 2007–08 team info
  23. UH Sport, American Football (search-engine snippet; live site down when checked)
  24. Ballaz in da Middle podcast, episode 20 (28 Apr 2024); also Points of Light, https://www.pointsoflight.gov.uk/womens-american-football-champion/
  25. Caneweb (2002 club site), team/Coaching Staff.htm
  26. Hurricanes club website (Wayback Machine): 2008–09 home and team pages

Honours

Coach of the Year

Hurricanes Hall of Fame

  • 2002–03 — Hurricanes Hall of Fame, founding class of 2002

Photos

Sources (16)

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